Sumner is a surname. It originates from the English-language word that is spelled, in modern English, summoner, denoting a person who serves a summons. In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, one of the characters is a summoner (see "The Summoner's Tale"); a Middle English spelling is Somonour. Other spellings include Sumpner, Somner, and Summoner. Among the notable people with this surname are the following:
Allen Melancthon Sumner (1882–1918), American Marine
Andrew Sumner, British movie journalist and publisher
Benedict Humphrey Sumner (1893-1951), British historian
Bernard Sumner (born 1956), British musician
Brian Sumner (born 1979), British skateboarder
Carl Sumner (1908–1999), American baseball player
Charles Sumner (1811–1874), American politician
Charles Richard Sumner (1790–1874), Anglican bishop (Landaff and then Winchester)
Charlie Sumner (born 1930), American football player and coach
Cid Ricketts Sumner (1890–1970), American novelist
Claude Sumner, Canadian philosopher
Edwin Vose "Bull" Sumner (1797–1863), American Civil War general
George Sumner (disambiguation)
Gordon Sumner (born 1951), British musician better known as Sting, singer of the band The Police
Heywood Sumner (1853–1940), English artist, designer, writer and archaeologist
Increase Sumner (1746–1799), American politician and jurist
J. D. Sumner (1924–1998), American singer and songwriter
James B. Sumner (1887–1955), American biochemist
Jethro Sumner (1733–1785), American Revolutionary War general
Joe Sumner (born 1976), British musician
Joe Sumner (born 1991), British gangster
John Sumner (actor born 1951), British actor
John Sumner (17th-century actor) (died May 1649), an English theatre actor
John Bird Sumner (1780–1862), Anglican bishop / Archbishop of Canterbury
John Robert Sumner (1850–1933), English amateur footballer, played in 1873 FA Cup Final (grandson of John Bird Sumner)
Joseph Burton Sumner (1837–1920), American settler
John S. Sumner (1876–1971), head of New York Society for the Suppression of Vice from 1915 to 1950
Kelly Sumner, British businessman
L. W. Sumner (born 1941), Canadian philosopher
Mary Sumner (1828–1921), founder of the Mothers' Union
Mary Lou Sumner (1927-2002), American politician
Robert Sumner (born 1922), American evangelist and writer
Samuel S. Sumner (1842–1937), American general
Sarah Sumner (21st century), American Evangelical theologian
Sophie Sumner (born 1990), British fashion model
Steve Sumner (born 1955), New Zealand football player
T. B. Sumner, American politician
Thomas Hubbard Sumner (1807–1876), American mariner
Tim Sumner (physicist), Professor of Experimental Physics at Imperial College London
Tim Sumner (footballer) (born 1994), Australian rules footballer
Walt Sumner (born 1947), American football player
William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), American sociologist
William H. Sumner (1780–1861), Boston historical figure
William Sumner (Hawaii) (1786–1847), ship captain and early English settler of Hawaii
William Keolaloa Sumner (1816–1885), Hawaiian chief and landholder
John Kapilikea Sumner (1820–1915), Hawaiian chief and landholder
Nancy Sumner (1839–1896), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting
Elizabeth Keawepoʻoʻole Sumner (1850–1911), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting
